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Trump officials cast doubt on CORE Act in Senate testimony; Gardner absent
After a years-long wait, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act finally got its first hearing in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, but Republican lawmakers and top public lands officials in President Donald Trump’s administration made clear that the conservation package isn’t a top priority. In a hearing of the Public Lands, Forests and Mining […]
3,400 Coloradans have submitted positive COVID-19 tests — a fraction of total — to notification system
In the three weeks since the launch of Colorado’s new smartphone-based Exposure Notifications system, roughly 3,400 people who tested positive for the coronavirus have used the system to notify others that they may have been exposed, state officials said this week. As of Nov. 13, more than a million Coloradans had opted in to the […]
Colorado’s dismal recycling rate dropped again in 2019
Coloradans may pride themselves on their eco-consciousness, but there’s at least one area of environmental policy where they remain national laggards. “We have a lot of room to grow when it comes to recycling,” said Colorado First Gentleman Marlon Reis, who joined Gov. Jared Polis at a virtual event on Nov. 16 marking Colorado Recycles […]
Gov. Polis set to call special legislative session to address COVID-19 relief
Gov. Jared Polis and top officials in the Colorado General Assembly on Monday night issued a joint statement that appeared to confirm reports that Polis plans to convene a special session of the Legislature to address the coronavirus pandemic in the coming weeks. “Legislative leaders and the Governor’s office have been having productive conversations on […]
Resisting calls for new COVID-19 restrictions, Gov. Polis orders hospitals to prepare for surge
As COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to set records in Colorado and across the country, Gov. Jared Polis on Friday said he wants hospitals and health-care providers across the state to begin preparing for the worst. “These are our darkest days as a nation,” Polis said as he opened a briefing on the state’s […]
Trump administration memo deals another blow to Gardner’s public lands bill
The impact of a public lands bill sponsored by Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner is once again being questioned by the advocates who championed its passage, after an order issued by the Trump administration made major changes to a federal conservation program funded by the bill. Among the changes made by the order, which was […]
Tri-State pledges to cut emissions from Colorado electricity sales 80% by 2030
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a Westminster-based electricity wholesaler that provides power to 17 rural electric cooperatives across Colorado, announced Thursday that it plans to achieve an 80% cut to greenhouse gas emissions from electricity sales within the state by 2030. Gov. Jared Polis joined Tri-State executives to announce the pledge, which comes ahead of […]
Colorado service workers face health risks, high stress as COVID-19 cases spike
Gov. Jared Polis arrived at a virtual press briefing on the state’s coronavirus response on Monday with more bad news about the alarming spikes in cases and hospitalizations that have hit Colorado and much of the rest of the country in recent weeks. But despite another round of stern warnings about the need to improve […]
As wildfire threat grows, Colorado has a $4.2 billion forest management to-do list
Staff at the Colorado State Forest Service had been working on the agency’s latest action plan for more than a year before the 2020 wildfire season began taking a devastating toll on the state. As unprecedented blazes like the Pine Gulch Fire, Cameron Peak Fire and East Troublesome Fire burned hundreds of thousands of acres […]
New doubts arise over Gardner’s public lands bill after missed deadline on election eve
No piece of legislation was more front and center in Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner’s unsuccessful bid for reelection than the Great American Outdoors Act, a public lands bill sponsored by the Yuma Republican. The bill included full, permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which helps finance efforts by federal agencies and local […]
Activists celebrate passage of Denver sales tax to fund climate action
Denver climate-change activists are celebrating after a two-year campaign to boost funding for the city’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ended in victory Tuesday night, as voters approved a ballot measure imposing a 0.25% sales tax hike to fund a new climate-action office. With the vast majority of Denver’s votes counted, unofficial results show […]
Colorado unemployment claims tick up again amid COVID-19 spike
First-time unemployment filings in Colorado have reached their highest level in three months and remain above the levels seen in all but the worst weeks of the 2009-10 recession, state officials reported Thursday. Initial claims for regular unemployment insurance for the week ending Oct. 31 totaled 7,116, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said […]